Riverview School District to start next school year with new superintendent

When school begins, Riverview School District students and staff will see new safety protocols, new challenges and a new superintendent to help guide them through it all.

Neil English, district curriculum coordinator and high school instructional principal, was chosen to succeed Peggy DiNinno as Riverview’s top administrator.

DiNinno is retiring after 27 years in education, including the last eight with Riverview. She was hired in March 2012 to replace longtime Superintendent Chuck Erdeljac.

“I’ve been able to really enjoy the whole world of education through teaching and administration,” she said.

DiNinno, 60, of Monroeville was Apollo-Ridge School District’s superintendent before coming to Riverview. She also served as a middle school teacher at Penn-Trafford School District, a North Hills Junior High School assistant principal and started her education career as a reading specialist at Ligioner Valley School District.

Her last official day at Riverview was Aug. 20.

She thanked school board members for their support and said she will miss the students and staff.

“Riverview’s in a very good place and, personally, I’m looking forward to seeing my grandchildren,” DiNinno said. “No one person can do anything alone. It’s really all about the people who surround them and work in the trenches every day who are really doing the work. Our team has done a focused job on that and will help prepare students for the future.”

English, 45, of Wexford already started leading town halls and other meetings in preparation for school during the covid-19 pandemic.

“We’re doing the best we can,” he said. “It’s a busy time right now. I’m just trying to get everyone moving in the right direction and get everyone ready for the start of the school year.”

English started in education teaching elementary students in Florida through the National Civilian Community Corps.

During that time, he assisted youths in urban schools, disaster relief areas and children’s hospitals in the Southeastern region of the country.

He also was a residential director in Athens, Greece, for a semester at sea.

English earned a master’s degree in elementary education as well as his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.

He served as an assistant principal for Haddam Killingworth Middle School in Killingworth, Conn., as well as an administrator for several other school districts such as Moon Area before joining Riverview in 2016.

The former Penn State New Kensington basketball player said he learned a lot from his mother, Mary, who was a superintendent in Southampton County, Va., and taught graduate level courses at George Washington University.

“She was a collaborator and unifier,” English said. “I learned a lot about that. That was sort of a tenant of her leadership over the years.”

DiNinno and English have worked together for a long time to have a smooth leadership transition.

“I’m excited about it because it allows me to serve the district in new capacities,” English said about the new position. “I can use some of my experience, some of my mindset and things I know how to do. I got into education to help people.

“The goal is to create a culture of learning and help the students and the staff create extraordinary young people. It’s challenging, but it’s also an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to really support people, support students at a time where they most need it.”

DiNinno believes the board made the right decision in selecting English to lead at a time where masks, social distancing, health screenings and other safety protocols have become the new normal.

“Education is likely never going to look the same as it did when I was a child, or when my own children (were in school) or even a few years ago, and it shouldn’t because the world changes,” DiNinno said. “Their resources and the skills that each generation has to have to prepare themselves for their world change.

“If there’s anything that we’ve seen in this pandemic, it’s that people can come together and people can face adversity, and they can pivot when they need to.

Board member Maureen McClure thanked DiNinno for her service, particularly during the pandemic.

“I think Peggy has just done a terrific job managing this whole thing,” McClure said. “I see a lot of districts that had no plan in place when everything started to hit, and she was on the job, had a plan ready to go. I have a lot of respect for that.

“I had a lot of respect for her sincerity. When you have a senior administrator, you want someone who’s right up front. You can trust what they have to say. These are simple things, but leadership rests on it.”

McClure said she taught English in Pitt’s doctoral program and is proud to see him in his new role.

“He was very hardworking,” McClure said. “If I gave him an assignment of five pages, he gave me 15.”

Details of English’s contract have yet to be finalized.

District Business Manager Tammy Good said DiNinno’s salary for 2020-21 school year was about $168,500.

English’s current salary is $98,500.